(a) If under these conditions it takes the bird 20min20min to travel 6km6km, what is the speed of the wind?

Question

A seagull flies with an air speed of 14m/s14m/s straight into the wind. Include units as appropriate below.

(a) If under these conditions it takes the bird 20min20min to travel 6km6km, what is the speed of the wind?

𝑣𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 = 

(b) If the bird turns around and flies with the wind, how long will the bird take to return 6km6km?

𝑡t = 

Answer 1

20 minutes is 1200 seconds

6 km is 6000 meters.

So the bird averaged 2000/1200 m/s or 5/3 m/s

If the bird was flying at 14 m/s (which is the same as 42/3 m/s) and only averaged 5/3 then the wind must be blowing at 37/3 m/s

In a return flight, the bird would be traveling at 79/3 m/s (42/3 + 37/3) and would be traveling that distance of 6000 meters. The time is then 6000/(79/3) = 227.848 seconds or about 3.8 minutes